St. Margaret's Anfield Church of England Primary School

Inspection Report St Margaret's Anfield Church of England Primary School

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134245 Unique Reference Number Liverpool LEA 282505 Inspection number 15 March 2006 to 16 March 2006 Inspection dates Mr Frank Carruthers CfBT Lead Inspector Reporting inspector

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This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Lower Breck Road School address Primary Type of school Anfield Voluntary controlled School category Liverpool L6 4BX 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 0151 260 5522 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0151 287 2891 Fax number 443 Number on roll Reverend Winn Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs M McLellan Headteacher Not applicable Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 282505 15 March 2006 - 4 to 11 16 March 2006 Inspection Report: St Margaret's Anfield Church of England Primary School, 15 March 2006 to 16 March 2006

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by three additional inspectors.

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Description of the school

This large controlled primary school is situated in an area of very significant economic and social deprivation and was established in September 2003 from the existing infant and junior schools on the same site. Almost all children are white-British and there are a few children from minority ethnic backgrounds who are at the early stages of learning English as an additional language. The proportion of children with additional learning difficulties and/or disabilities is broadly average. The school is part of a Learning Network federation and has gained awards for Inclusion, the Artsmark award, Healthy Schools Award and Investors in People.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: St Margaret's Anfield Church of England Primary School, 15 March 2006 to 16 March 2006

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Grade: 3

The overall effectiveness of the school is satisfactory, as is the children's achievement. Standards in Year 6 in English and mathematics were below average in 2005. Children's achievement has been satisfactory since the new school opened. Standards in the current Years 5 and 6, however, are rising and the children's better achievement is the result of better teaching in these year groups and improvements in target-setting and tracking the children's progress. The children's personal development and well-being are good, though levels of attendance and punctuality of a minority of children are unsatisfactory. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory overall but there is insufficient good teaching across Key Stage 1 and lower Key Stage 2 to raise children's achievement. The quality of the curriculum and the care, guidance and support for children, including the most vulnerable, is good. Provision for children in

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Grade: 3

the Foundation Stage, that is the nursery and Reception years, is good with some excellent features. Leadership, management and governance of the school are satisfactory overall. The headteacher has provided good leadership during the challenging period of amalgamation. There is more to do to promote a single school by improvements to the buildings. Guided by an increasingly effective senior management team, the school has the capacity to improve. Procedures to evaluate the performance of the school are satisfactory and the school's judgements match those of inspectors in all but one aspect. The cost of educating a child at the school is broadly average and, despite a small deficit in the budget, the school gives satisfactory value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Raise standards and children's achievement in English and mathematics by improving the quality of teaching, making more effective use of teaching time and applying measurable targets to priorities in the school development plan. • Do more to improve levels of attendance and punctuality. • Press for the building of a corridor to link the two key stages.

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Grade: 3

Children's achievement is satisfactory. Children start school with levels of attainment that are below average and low in some aspects of personal development and communication, language and literacy. Children get a good start in the Foundation Stage and, although their overall progress by the end of the Reception year is good, about half the children are still working towards the expected goals for learning. Children's achievement through the school is satisfactory, and there are no significant differences between different ethnic or ability groups, though some Year 6 children with learning difficulties did not make sufficient progress last year. Year 6 test results missed the school's targets in 2005 but much is being done to remedy this. For instance, the school's focus on speaking and listening skills to promote writing skills and problem 2 Inspection Report: St Margaret's Anfield Church of England Primary School, 15 March 2006 to 16 March 2006

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Grade: 3

solving in mathematics is beginning to have an impact so that the dip in recent results looks set to be reversed. The school's assessment procedures are now providing good information about the strengths and weaknesses of different age groups, so that effective steps can be taken to raise their achievement. Children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and those coping with difficult home circumstances make similar progress to others.

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Grade: 2

Children's personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is good. Older children, especially, display good attitudes to learning and say they find school a 'lively' place to be. Spiritual development is good, promoted by the school's family ethos, and the curriculum enriches the children's understanding of their own and other cultures well. Behaviour is good and parents and children confirm that bullying is not a concern. Children report that the school is 'friendly' and they have trusting relationships with adults. However, levels of attendance are too low and show little sign of improvement. This is in spite of the good efforts of staff, especially the learning mentor, and remains a serious concern for the school. Key strengths of the children's personal development are their awareness of health and fitness, both of which are the result of the focus given them by the school. Children

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Grade: 2

take on responsibility very well as school councillors and 'play pals'. They take a full part in the life of the community and have a good understanding of the environment and issues such as re-cycling. Preparing the children for the world of work is satisfactory and there are good opportunities to develop teamwork and wider interests through business links.

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Grade: 3

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory with areas of good and outstanding provision in Years 5 and 6 and in the Foundation Stage. Teachers' subject knowledge is secure and most make good use of new technology to help children learn. Relationships in classes are very good and teachers manage children's behaviour well. Classroom assistants are a valued part of the teaching team whose skills and sensitive support for children contribute much to their progress and achievement. The most successful lessons are those where children are practically engaged. Arguing the pros and cons of a 'chocolate and crisps' diet or working out how to construct a house with sand, building blocks and a ruler are interesting ways for children to achieve better knowledge and skills. Too many lessons, however, lack pace. This is largely because time during extended literacy sessions, particularly but not exclusively in Key Stage

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Grade: 3

1, is not used creatively. At times, expectations of what children can achieve are not high enough, resulting in tasks for some groups not being suitably planned. Teachers mark children's work effectively commenting on successes as well as points for 3 Inspection Report: St Margaret's Anfield Church of England Primary School, 15 March 2006 to 16 March 2006 improvement but could make more of the extensive assessment information to plan more specifically for the children's different abilities.

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Grade: 2

The quality of the curriculum is good. Exciting initiatives have led to better opportunities for children, for example in Spanish, information and communication technology (ICT), the arts and physical education. The current focus on speaking and listening skills is beginning to have a positive effect on the quality of children's writing, which is now increasingly practised across a range of subjects. However, time is sometimes wasted, especially for younger children, because some sessions are too long and do not engage children fully in learning activities. Education about sex and relationships is planned sensitively for the different age groups. Provision for children in the Foundation Stage is good with some outstanding features helping them to become interested, independent learners. Provision for children who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities is good. Children enjoy the many opportunities they

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Grade: 2

have to follow up their interests in sports and craft activities after school as well as an extensive range of visits and visitors to enrich their learning.

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Grade: 2

Provision for the care, guidance and support of children is good. All aspects of child protection, health and safety are carefully addressed. Procedures to promote good behaviour and act against bullying are very effective in combating anti-social behaviour. Links with other agencies, such as the behaviour support team, are fostered well, especially through the good work of the learning mentor, to benefit the learning of all children. Links with the education welfare service are satisfactory but more needs to be done to encourage better attendance and punctuality. Recently the school has introduced better strategies of recognition and reward for good attendance and punctuality as well as formal procedures to prosecute parents of poor attenders; but it is too soon to see the impact. The individual tracking of and support for children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are good. Tracking and monitoring systems

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Grade: 3

The school's evaluation is that leadership and management are good but inspectors find them satisfactory overall. This is because in the two years since the amalgamation there has not been time for new management structures and procedures to have their full impact on standards and children's achievement. Monitoring and evaluation systems have not yet been integrated sufficiently to have their full effect on standards. The headteacher has a clear vision for the school, and her leadership has guided it successfully through the challenging period of amalgamation. She has succeeded in 4 Inspection Report: St Margaret's Anfield Church of England Primary School, 15 March 2006 to 16 March 2006 uniting people so that they can work together in the best interests of the children, even when this has meant changes in roles and responsibilities. The difficult financial circumstances that have accompanied this period have also added to problems and

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Grade: 3

are being resolved well. Together with the strong and effective new senior management team, she has created a positive environment for learning, where every child matters and where adults work together to bring about improvement. The different levels of management work well together but there are still gaps between the collection and analysis of data and steps put in place to bring about improvement. The school development plan is satisfactory but needs measurable success criteria. The school seeks and acts on the views of parents well. The governing body fulfils its statutory obligations satisfactorily and works well to support the school. Through its committees it keeps close touch with all aspects of the school's work and acts as a critical friend. 5 Inspection Report: St Margaret's Anfield Church of England Primary School, 15 March 2006 to 16 March 2006 .

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set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: St Margaret's Anfield Church of England Primary School, 15 March 2006 to 16 March 2006

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Overall

Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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learners?

NA 2 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 2 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA NA Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 3 How well do learners achieve? NA 3 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 3 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 3 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 4 The attendance of learners NA 2 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 3 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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needs and interests of learners?

NA 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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needs and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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and supporting all learners?

NA 3 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 3 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 3 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 3 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy

Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the wider community

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The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being

Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams NA Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form NA Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for your help when we inspected your school and please pass on our thanks to the other children we met and spoke to while we were at school. We enjoyed our visit very much. Now we want to share with you what we thought about your school. These are some of the things that are good in your school: - the staff have done a good job making one school out of two - the staff are taking good care of you and helping you all to be fit, safe and healthy - your behaviour is good and you are all growing into sensible students who want to learn and find out things - the staff provide you with great opportunities for learning in subjects such as art, music, Spanish and physical education as well as the chance to enjoy activities and clubs after school. There are some important things for your headteacher, staff and school governors to do to make the school even better. We want: - the staff to help you do better in reading, writing and mathematics, because you'll need these

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

important skills when you transfer to secondary school, and so we're suggesting ways for them to do this - you to help to improve the levels of attendance and punctuality - the governors and your headteacher to do all they can to help get a link corridor between the two sides of the building. With best wishes to you all for the future.

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